The present invention pertains generally to fluorinated tetranitriles and high-temperature resins prepared therefrom and in particular to perfluorinated phthalonitriles and polyphthalocyanine resins.
Polyphthalocyanine resins compare favorably with epoxies as structural materials with the added advantage of a higher thermal stability. These resins are stable to about 235.degree. C. in an oxidizing atmosphere. One important property of resins which both epoxies and polyphthalocyanines are lacking to an objectionable degree for some applications is water repellency. Both resins absorb H.sub.2 O in an amount from about five to ten percent of their weight in water.
Presently, a polyphthalocyanine is prepared from a phthalonitrile, which has two phenyl dinitrile groups separated by a bridging chain. The bridging chain of the phthalonitrile becomes the bridging chain between the phthalocyanine nuclei in the resin. The properties of a polyphthalocyanine resin arise from the nuclei which is the same for all polyphthalocyanines and from the bridging chains between the nuclei which are not the same. Research for new polyphthalocyanines entails synthesising phthalonitriles which have bridging chains with the desired properties and are capable of forming resins, and determining the reaction parameters of the resin synthesis. To date, the bridging chains have all been hydrocarbons, which have included aromatic, aliphatic, amide, saturated, and unsaturated hydrocarbons.